The Spellplague
The Spellplague, often known as Selune's Eclipse, was a climactic event that marked the end of the Netherese empire across the continent of Faerûn and the sealing of the Central Breach. For a brief moment, all magic was stripped from the world, before being restored by the Goddess of Magic, Mystra. Extract from "The History of the Continent: Vol. 2 The Netherese Empire" "...Months of war with the Demonic legions pouring through the central breach had begun to take its toll on the Netherese Empire. Vast swathes of landscape now lay blasted and ruined, cities overrun and populations scattered, there were many among the Netherese who saw the inevitable demise of the Empire as the only end to this violent fight for supremancy over the material plane. When the city of Anauria, hallowed resting place of past Netherese rulers and bastion of hope, was finally overrun, panic surged through Netheril. Selune, last Empress of Netheril, feeling the responsibility for Netheril's future on her shoulders, composed a desperate plan to seal the breach between planes once and for all. Gathering what remained of Netheril's most powerful magic wielders to her side in the capital Hiondath, Selune enacted her plan. One hundred of Netheril's greatest mages wielding one hundred of the Empire's most powerful remaining relics would combine their talents and, draining the artifacts, would fuel Selune's spell to seal the hole in reality. However the cost of the spell was great. Just as it stripped the lives from those who cast it, the horrific cost of pulling the planes apart could not be sated by a mere hundered magical artifacts. In the process of binding the tear, the Netherese magic began, draining magic from the air, the earth and all aspects of the world governed by the arcane arts. Most likely the spell had begun to rip the essence from the very Weave of Mystra itself and for a brief moment all magic ceased to be. Without the magic, the floating cities of Netheril could not hold their positions in the skies, and most of them crashed to the ground to lie in ruins where they are today. However the spell was complete, in giving up her life to close the breach, Selune's body and the powerful magics of Netheril were forever twisted and bound in an arcane seal. Mystra stabilised the weave within minutes, restoring magic to the world and in doing so was able to save only one of Netheril's floating cities, while the rest were utterly destroyed. The city of Ascalhorn was high enough above the ground to survive the fall long enough that Mystra could land them safely, and the survivors stumbled away from the cities in shock. However recent discovery of a number of texts may point to a second city that survived the fall of Netheril, Thultanthar, which was pulled into the Plane of Shadow" although no other evidence has been found..." Extract from "Common Prayer of Selune" Let all on whom the light falls be saved. '' ''As the silver moon waxes and wanes, so too does all life. '' ''Trust in my radiance, and know that all live alive under my light shall know my blessing. '' ''Turn to the moon, your protector, ever faithful.